Singapore share prices closed at a fresh record peak for the third straight trading session Tuesday on buying in select blue chip stocks, dealers said. Follow-through buying in offshore and marine-related (OM) stocks on expectations of continued strong demand for oil drilling rigs helped offset earlier declines following Wall Street's overnight slide, they said.
The Straits Times Index rose 5.76 points or 0.16 percent to 3,629.55, a new closing high that surpassed the record established just a day earlier. Volume traded was 3.94 billion shares worth 2.41 billion Singapore dollars (1.56 billion US). Gainers beat losers 405 to 363, with 731 issues unchanged.
"After yesterday's rise, the market has slowed down a little but I think overall sentiment judging by today's trading volume, is still quite okay," a local brokerage dealer said.
Some OM-related stocks continued to gain amid expectations that these companies will secure more rig-building and shipbuilding orders. Among them, COSCO Singapore was up 0.14 at 3.58.
SembCorp Industries rose 0.30 to 5.85 on laggard buying and Keppel Corp was down 0.10 to 12.50. Investors expect SembCorp Industries and Keppel Corp to be among those bidding for the three electricity generating companies Temasek is planning to divest in the next 12 to 18 months.
Bank and property stocks, which have led the recent market rally, succumbed to profit-taking pressure. DBS Group fell 0.20 to 24.10, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp dropped 0.05 to 9.50 and United Overseas Bank (UOB) fell 0.10 to 23.50. CIMB-GK said it has upgraded its rating on UOB to "buy" from "hold" and its target price to 27.50 from 22.00 on expectations of stronger earnings.
Singapore Telecom and Singapore Press Holdings were steady at 3.40 and 4.42 respectively, while Singapore Airlines was up 0.20 at 18.90. Among property stocks, CapitaLand was down 0.10 at 8.10, Keppel Land fell 0.15 to 9.15 while City Developments rose 0.20 to 17.90.
The Singapore Exchange extended its gains, rising 0.10 to 10.10, still buoyed by news of the Tokyo Stock Exchange's acquisition of a nearly 5.0 percent stake in the Singapore bourse operator.